


Mother of Pearl

by 263Adder



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, Mulder/Scully Shipper, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 14:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10721430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/263Adder/pseuds/263Adder
Summary: Working in the FBI Archives had the potential to be dull - but not with the X Files down the hall.Romance for Skinner because he's awesome, also background Mulder/Scully because they're also awesome and want Skinner to be happy. Work title by Roxy Music.





	Mother of Pearl

**Author's Note:**

> Forgive inaccuracies about the FBI. I don't know if they have an archive separate from evidence, I'm also not sure if the Assistant Director would oversee that or if it would fall into the responsibilities of the other directors.

Reviewing a new influx of materials, Harlow was jarred out of her zone by a file being thrown on her desk.

"I'm returning a case file." A haughty looking detective told her.

"Returned files go into the drop off box, just over there." Harlow said smoothly, nodding over at the clearly marked box. "Exactly where they've been returned for the last decade." She slid the file back over to the detective before returning to her case load, not bothering to confirm that he followed procedure.

Sure, she could have just taken the file and let the very busy detective get on with his _much more_ important work, but there was something about working in the FBI's musty archive, situated in a basement with no direct sunlight for five days a week that really dried out a person's sense of generosity. Especially when the last several agents to come downstairs offered no greeting, just demanded a file or dumped one on her desk to be tidied away now it had served its purpose.

Setting aside another grizzly case file, which had now been registered in the system and categorised for filing, Harlow rubbed her eyes before picking up the next. The FBI offered an excellent salary, benefits package and a wonderful pension scheme - especially in comparison to what Harlow would get as an archivist in a museum or university. It had only taken Harlow a few hours in the job to realise the reason it was such a great deal was because it involved having to become intimately familiar with some truly horrific cases. And then she'd quickly started to wonder how any sane person could want to see this in real life, never mind in pictures and on paper.

The agents who traipsed through the archives were usually investigating paper heavy cases - misuse of financial funds, bribery, extortion - white-collar, non-violent crimes. With the exception of serial offenders, Harlow rarely saw anyone  from the other investigative branches on a regular basis. With the exception of Agents Mulder and Scully.

The pair had always been polite when they came down for some old case files, making polite conversation here and when they passed each other in the hall. Plus they always gave Harlow a little chuckle over how they would talk to each other. Not to mention the looks. There just _had_ to be something there. She ran into the pair more often than any other agents, as they were one of the few departments situated in the basement besides Archives and Evidence. They only ever seemed to be there for a little while, however, before they were jetting out to investigate the impossible.

Anyway, a curiosity had bubbled over and Harlow soon found herself reading the returned case files and the new ones deposited from their closed cases. Every logical part of her rejected the notion of the Flukeman being real, but for the following week she'd found herself checking the toilet before she sat down. Not to mention the paranoia that followed reading about Eugene Tooms.

Flipping over the new case file, Harlow began to scan the document looking out for keywords that would help her categorise the case. It was a homicide, solved with perp declared dead. There was an attached plastic evidence bag which contained a small knife which Harlow would need to box up and transfer to Evidence before the documents could be archived. The agent who had signed off sounded unfamiliar, presumably a new agent who didn't know yet that evidence goes straight to Evidence and not Archives. Because the whole process was, of course, rocket science.

It was a single homicide, committed in the D.C. area... Harlow began to note down as she scanned through the notes before she stopped. There was a picture of the perp attached that seemed familiar, though she struggled to place it. The heart had been cut out and removed, not yet recovered. The detective had left a note saying it was suspected the perp had consumed the organ, but this was not confirmed.

Dropping the file back onto the desk, Harlow stood up and walked towards the back. It didn't take long to find what she was looking for, she'd recategorised everything personally after taking over. She knew the place like the back of her hand.

And yet, despite how quickly she had gone to make the connection, it was with a heavy unwillingness that she dragged herself down the corridor towards the basement's other occupants.

Harlow was happy with her position. Well, a window still wouldn't go amiss and the gruesome reading was unpleasant. But she was very secure in her decision to avoid a career in law enforcement at all costs.

As an archivist, Harlow usually found herself eating lunch with the guys from Evidence. Just like how the lab techs all sat around the computers together, and the agents hung out at the bar with other agents from their departments. She had lots in common with the guys from Evidence. They'd trained in archival work, and they were all equally happy to stay away from the front lines. Just pack up the evidence afterwards and only glance at the pictures to make sure they were the right ones.

She wasn't even sure why she'd become interested in the X Files. Maybe it was just because they were _so_ unusual. But Harlow had always been happy to only skim the facts, to leave her imagination untainted because she could only imagine the nightmares the agents got from these cases. And she didn't want them.

With a sigh she knocked on the door, noting that Agent Scully's name still wasn't up there. Harlow wasn't even sure if they were around, she hadn't seen them in days. She should probably just take it to the lead agent, point out his mistake in bringing in evidence to the archives and then tell him about the similarities she'd found with an X File.

Except she knew well enough what everyone's attitude was towards the X Files.

The door swung open to reveal a very curious Agent Scully.

" _Hello_." She said.

"Am I disturbing you, Agent Scully?"

Scully smiled. "No, not at all. We're just not used to getting any visitors down here."

"Tell me about it."

The door was opened and Harlow stepped into the office, first looking at Mulder sprawled in his desk chair, then at the 'I Want To Believe' poster and finally at the numerous yellow pencils stuck in the ceiling.

"He does that." Scully murmured as she crossed back over to her chair. "Did we leave something out in our last case file, I would have thought you would have filed it away by now?"

Looking back down from the ceiling to find Mulder smiling guiltily, Harlow shook her head, remembering who she was with and that this of all things was not the weirdest thing she could have seen.

"Actually, I came about a different case. It was closed and dropped off at archives today. I think a new agent was working on it, as he included evidence with it. Anyway, I started reading through it and there were some parts that seemed familiar to me."

"You have all the files in there memorised?" Mulder chuckled.

"Well, no. But this one stuck out to me. Pretty much like all the X Files." Harlow answered, a little defensive.

"See, Scully. I told you our FBI fan club could only grow."

Scully took the files off Harlow, opening them both up before her. "Thirty year old female victim, heart removed, possibly devoured by the perpetrator," she began to read aloud, arching an eyebrow as Mulder immediately jumped out of his chair and crossed over to the filing cabinet, "lived alone, worked as a pediatric surgeon, no original motive."

"She did a lot of charitable works," Harlow interrupted, "ran marathons, worked pro bono."

"Perpetrator was found to be her downstairs neighbour, Harold Forest. Shot and killed when he attempted to escape arrest, unclear motive."

Selecting a file, Mulder flipped it open. "Harry Wood. Killed two people, both thirty, by removing and consuming their hearts. Both considered upstanding citizens, I theorised that he was attempting to feed off their goodness in order to give himself healing abilities. I take it Forest's body went missing too?"

"Yes." Scully said, slowly. "Mulder..."

"I know, you can't feed off someone's goodness." He waved off. "Who was the lead agent on this case?"

"Agent Clay."

"Thank you, Harlow." Mulder said cheerfully, grabbing his coat before dashing out the door.

"Yes. _Thank you_ , Harlow." Scully said, more mournful than cheerful as she smiled to Harlow before following her partner with a definite air of reluctance. They were such an old married couple.

"Good luck." Harlow called after them, before closing the door and heading back to her own dingy room.

The next time a file landed on her desk from the X Files it was unsolved, though Scully and Mulder's reports did postulate a theory that Forest/Wood had believed that by consuming hearts he was able to survive death. Evidently he hadn't survived decapitation while being chased through a steel plant.

And for the first time, when Harlow filed a report away, her name was in it. It gave her a sense of something she hadn't expected. Almost satisfaction, even though she hadn't really done anything. Just pointed them in the direction of a new case then sat back safely at her desk, doing the same thing she did every day. She didn't expect Mulder and Scully to stop by once they got back to tell her she did a good job. And what she most certainly didn't expect was to get a visit from A.D. Skinner, who she had never even met before.

Working alone in a myriad of stacks meant Harlow got more liberties than other personnel at work. For one if she arrived ten minutes late there was no supervisor to get in trouble with. Secondly she was permitted to listen to her music at a moderate volume, though she doubted even if she blasted it that anyone would hear so far was she from the main hustle and bustle of day to day activities.

Except today being ten minutes late meant missing a call from Skinner's office, and playing music meant she missed the knock on the door to signal his arrival.

It hadn't been playing that loud, and she was diligently doing her work not dancing around like a lunatic. But as soon as the large shadow formed over her desk she quickly slapped the off button plunging them into the unsettling silence she usually tried to avoid sitting in.

"I like Fats Domino." Skinner said offhandedly as he glanced around the office.

"Really?" Harlow said, unable to stop the question slipping from her mouth.

"He has a good voice." He answered. "I haven't been down here in years. Was it always this big?"

"Yes." Harlow said, slowly rising to her feet. "I've moved a lot around since I started, however."

"Looks good." Skinner stopped for a moment and seemed to tilt his head slightly. "It's really quiet. My office is never this quiet."

"Actually the pipes make quite a bit of noise. But if you want quiet, we can switch. I wouldn't mind having a window."

"Hmm, it is quite dark down here. Even Mulder has a small window." Skinner said, glancing at the walls. "My office tried to contact you first thing but didn't get a response."

"Oh. I'm sorry, sir. I was running late. Was there a file you required?" Harlow asked, moving to pick up a request form.

"No. Actually I was talking with Agents Mulder and Scully about their latest case when your name came up. They told me without your diligence the connection between the two cases would never have been made."

"X Files are pretty memorable." She replied.

"Yes they are. Many of them are also highly confidential."

"I'm aware, sir."

"Do you read every case that gets archived?"

"Well I just scan them to know where they should be filed, then enter the location into the system. If I read them all word for word they'd be stacked to the ceiling by now."

"So you're the only person who works in here?"

"Yes, though Evidence is just across the hall."

"With Agents Mulder and Scully just next door." Skinner said, glancing at the wall to their right.

"There's two more rooms of filing cabinets between me and the X Files' office, sir."

"I'm starting to understand the music. I can hear the pipes now. They're quite loud aren't they."

"Yes, sir. But a little music drowns it out just fine."

"The Intelligence Analysts have a nice office. Plenty of people, windows. No creaking pipes."

"How nice for them." Harlow responded, well aware of where he was heading.

"I reviewed your file, you're more than qualified for an analysts position."

She bit back a groan. The last time she'd gotten into a conversation about joining the Intelligence division it had lasted a good thirty minutes and had only served to make her miss her lunch. "Thank you, but I prefer archival work."

"You're sure?"

"Yes. I was already approached about it a few months after I started. And a few times since then."

Skinner nodded, glancing around them again. "Can I ask why?"

"I've always quite liked working alone."

Again Skinner nodded. " I understand that. Just seems like a waste of talent."

She shrugged. "That's the same line my last boss used when I turned down a lecturing position. It just wasn't for me."

"You could make a difference." He suggested, almost half heartedly.

"Can anybody?"

"Hey, Harlow do you...." Mulder trailed off as he bounded into the room, obviously not expecting to see the Assistant Director in the basement. "Good morning, sir. Am I interrupting?"

"I was just talking to Harlow about the benefits of being an Intelligence Analyst."

"Yeah, their coffee is better than ours. But if they don't like you they stick you in this little box room with no light. Nice people."

Harlow bit back a smirk.

"Mulder." Skinner scolded.

"Sorry, sir."

"Sure you are. Aren't you supposed to be catching a flight?"

"I was about to head to the airport, sir. I just wanted to ask Harlow to water this fern Scully got for the office. She seems to think the place needs livening up. We might be gone for a few days."

"Of course I will, Agent Mulder." Harlow answered quickly, trying to stop her imagination from conjuring up what that conversation between her neighbours sounded like.

"Thanks, Harlow. I'll contact you when I find out more information, sir." Mulder said before quickly making an exit. He paused in the doorway to glance back at them before continuing on his way.

"Think through what I said, Miss Harlow. Good day." Skinner said, his good mood obviously dampened by whatever new and mysterious case the X Files had picked up. No doubt Harlow would find out more once the file finally landed on her desk. She was almost looking forward to it. If anyone could look forward to paperwork.

"Good day, sir." Harlow said pleasantly, before turning her stereo back on. Johnny Nash began to filter through as Skinner passed back out the doorway. She just about managed to skim the title before another voice rang out.

"Wow. You know it's not everyone who gets a personal visit from Skinman."

Harlow's lips pursed as she looked up at Mulder lounging in the doorway. "Please tell me you're not stupid enough to call him that in person. And aren't you supposed to be catching a flight?"

"I have a couple of hours before it leaves."

"There could be traffic."

"You trying to get rid of me, Harlow?"

"I thought Agent Scully was assigned to the X Files to keep an eye on you?"

"Scully's not my mother." Mulder said, rolling his eyes as he slouched into the room.

"No. I never would have thought she was. If _anything_ you're more like an old married couple."   

Mulder's eyebrows raised.

"The houseplant?"

"It's actually growing on me."

"Anything to keep her happy, huh?"

A reluctant smirk pulled at the corner of Mulder's mouth. "She's right. It livened the place up. Maybe you should get one too."

"I think if I'm going to try to liven this place up it'll take a whole lot more than a fern."

"How about one of those little cacti with googly eyes?"

"I had one of those once, actually. When I was a kid."

"Oh yeah?"

"One day I was trying to open the window, my hand couldn't reach and landed on the top of the cactus instead. It took my Dad a good twenty minutes to tweeze all the spines out."

"Ouch. So I guess I shouldn't buy you one."

"Well I'm not one to turn down gifts but maybe something a little less thorny."

"Says the woman who managed to make conversation with Skinner."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harlow asked, this time her eyebrows raising in question.

"I can count on one hand how many times Skinner has come down to the basement to see the X Files, and we're probably the largest thorn in his butt..."

"Think you just got your answer there." Harlow interrupted.

"...but he comes down here to try to recruit you for Intelligence. And he admitted he liked Fats Domino? I can't picture him listening to music full stop, let alone rock 'n' roll. Maybe some light jazz," Mulder said, starting to trail off. "Or the blues, actually I could see him being a blues man."

" _Focus_."

"Right. Anyway, I'm just saying you must have a pretty impressive resume to get Skinner down in this dump trying to convince you to join FBI Intelligence."

"I just do my job, Mulder. Even manage to do it without ruffling any feathers."

"Impossible." He chuckled.

"I'll water your fern for you." Harlow smiled in return.

"We'll figure you out yet."

"We?"

"Oh yeah, I've already filled Scully in."

" _Such an old married couple_..." She said under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Goodbye, Agent Mulder."

"Goodbye, Harlow. Enjoy reading your files." He waved once before exiting, his long coat trailing behind him. She'd known after everything she'd heard working here that Spooky Mulder was...unusual. What she hadn't expected was for him to be such a goofball. How Scully's eyes hadn't rolled out her head yet, she didn't know.

Looking back at the file, Harlow soon felt the day slip away as she worked through the heap of paperwork that was constantly added to. Getting up to go to the stacks provided some relief as she got to move around, though not as much as going upstairs at lunch to the canteen. She was exasperated to see such a lovely day outside, one in a long line that she was missing out on while being cooped up in the basement.

Back at it, the day whiled away as quickly as it usually did. There was a minor computer glitch in the afternoon, so Harlow had to call down IT services. Before long everything was up and running, and the day was drawing to a close.

It was with some excitement that she headed down the hall towards the X Files office. As she neared it a small yellow post-it caught her attention

 _Thanks_.

So damn presumptive, Harlow thought before opening the unlocked door. The side that was so clearly Scully's was neatly ordered, and a small house fern sat in a pot on the corner of her desk with a filled spray bottle waiting beside it. The side that so clearly belonged to Mulder involved a lot of strewn about papers and boxes, plenty of pencils littered around, and more books on alien phenomenons than Harlow would have initially believed to exist.

What was it that had made the man so obsessed with aliens? By all accounts Mulder was meant to be an exceptional criminologist and investigator, so why did he choose to be cooped up down here under intense scrutiny and constant ridicule?

Why did a woman who was overqualified for a job in archives choose to work in archives, Harlow thought wryly before she picked up the spray bottle and lightly misted the plant. It would probably only need watering once a day, she'd only have to come by before leaving work until Mulder and Scully returned.

Closing the door behind her, Harlow passed through the still bustling building of agents whose jobs weren't as nine to five as hers. Yet another point for the career as an archivist. Not to mention the decreased risk of being shot at.

The car park was still nearly completely full of cars, though entirely empty of people as Harlow moved towards her car. No, not entirely empty. A man was leant up against one of the columns smoking. Barely registering it, Harlow got in her car and drove off.


End file.
